StargateGalactica
by screaminheathen69
Summary: The Daedalus stumbles across the Colonial Fleet in the middle of a battle with the Wraith, and the Atlantis crew makes some new friends.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: The _Daedalus _stumbles across the Colonial fleet in the middle of a battle with the Wraith, and the Atlantis crew makes some new friends.

Crossover: Battlestar Galactica (original)

Notes: This takes place toward the end of season 2 of Atlantis, and about ten years after the end of Galactica. Galactica 1980 never happened, although I have borrowed the name Troy for Boxey.

Disclaimer: Yup, don't own none of it, wish I did. So, seein's as how I don't own none of it, and I ain't makin' any dough off of it, well then, there's no reason for one of those silly ol' lawsuits now, is there?

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STARGATE - GALACTICA

By screaminheathen69

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Chapter the First

"Col. Caldwell, we're getting some odd sensor readings..."

Col. Caldwell, commander of the USAF _Daedalus_, looked up from the staus report he was reading towards his scanning officer. "What kind of strange readings?"

"Weapons fire, I think. Some of the readings match the energy signature of Wraith weaponry, but the other reaings don't quite match anything in our database. Even Hermiad doesn't recognise it."

Caldwell glanced over at Lt. Col. John Sheppard and raised an eyebrow. Sheppard shrugged. "Seems like it might be worth a quick look. It's only a little way off our course."

Caldwell thought about it for a moment, then turned to the helmsman. "Alter course. Drop us out of hyperspace at the maximum distance our short range sensors will work. I wanna get a good look at what's going on before we get too close. Shields up, weapons systems armed, and get the 302 pilots ready to scramble." The ship became a hive of activity as it closed in on the target solar system.

Down in engineering, Hermiad and Novak were working to enhance the resolution of the long range scanners. Hermiad was grumbling in Asgard. Not that he'd admit to grumbling. Novak just rolled her eyes and kept working. "That looks like an awful lot of ships..."

"Indeed. Thirty seconds until deceleration."

The _Daedalus _dropped to sublight at the edge of the solar system. All short range sensors were quickly brought to bear on the battle raging in orbit of the fifth planet. Sheppard and Caldwell were leaning over the shoulder of the sensor operator. "We are insystem and secured from hyperdrive. Four Wraith cruisers confirmed. Two hundred plus darts." He adjusted his board a bit. "I count ninety-seven assorted large vessels, including two that are larger than a hive-ship. One hundred plus of what appear to be fighter craft. The two big ones seem to be protecting the rest of the unknowns. It looks like only a few of 'em are armed."

Another officer signaled for Caldwell's attention. "Sir, we're receiving a signal from one of the unknowns. The translator was able to decipher it."

"On screen." Caldwell and Sheppard both made their way over to the large screen on the port side of the bridge. A white haired man appeared there, the sounds of battle muffled over the circuit.

_"This is Adama, commander of the Colonial Battlestar Galactica, calling the vessel that has just arrived insystem. We are under attack by an unknown enemy, and would be grateful for any assistance that you can give us."_

Shepard and Caldwell exchanged looks. Sheppard shrugged again. "Well, they're human. Seems like helpin' 'em out'd be the neighborly thing to do."

Caldwell studied the battle on the tactical plot for a minute, then turned back to the screen, signaling for the comms officer to open the channel. "This is Col. Caldwell, commanding the United States Air Force Vessel _Daedalus._ We have a fair amount of experience with the Wraith, Commander. We stand ready to assist, just tell us where you want us."

Adama nodded, a smile ghosting across his face._ "Thank you, Colonel. We're sending you coordinates now. If you can give the Pegasus some back up, I think we can finish this off fairly quickly." _With another nod, the image faded away.

The helmsman glanced at Caldwell. "Coordinates recieved, sir." He put them up on the tactical plot. "They want us to pop out here, just above these two cruisers that are giving the _Pegasus _a bunch of grief."

"Okay, let's do this. Have the 302's ready to scramble as soon as we get there."

Sheppard took in the battle plan and turned to Caldwell. "Colonel, if you don't mind, I think I'll take out one of the Puddle-Jumpers. You could use every fighter pilot you've got out there."

"Go ahead. And try not to get killed. Dr. Weir would never let me hear the end of it."

"I'll try not to, sir." Sheppard tossed off a salute and sprinted for the hangar deck, calling for the rest of his team as he went. _Never hurts to have extra eyes..._

Five minutes later, a hyperspace window opened above and behind the two Wraith cruisers that were pummeling the _Pegasus_. The _Daedalus _dropped out of hyperspace, shields up, missiles and rail guns blazing, fighters pouring from the launch bays. Sheppard took off with the Jumper already cloaked, swinging around to try to take out the nearest cruiser's stardrive with his drones.

"Let's just see if we can get inside their shields before we de-cloak..." Rodney let out a terrified squeak as John threw the Jumper around wildly to avoid the hail of fire around them, not to mention the fighters caught up in viscious dogfights. John was staring at the Colonial fighter craft with undisguised lust. "Man, I have _got _to get me one of those."

Rodney waved a hand at the controls, wide-eyed. "Less drooling, more flying."

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, McKay, have I crashed us yet?"

Teyla, Ronon and Rodney all answered at the same time. "Yes!"

"Well, I've had a lot more practice since then," John said defensively.

"Oh, I feel so much better," snarked McKay. "Stare at the pretty ships _after_ we don't get killed."

"Killjoy. There's a weak spot in the shields here," he pointed at the HUD. "We'll try there. Everybody strapped in? Good." The jumper bucked as it flew through the shield, jerking them around in their seats, and then they were on the other side.

John grinned an evil little grin. "Hello, boys..." He de-cloaked and cut loose with a dozen drones, which proceeded to decimate the cruiser's stardrive, taking several weapons arrays out in the process. As the ship lost power, its shields failed, allowing Vipers and 302s alike free run at the unprotected port side, while the _Pegasus _tore into its starboard flank. Within a minute, the cruiser exploded in a brilliant display of pyrotechnics, and the ships that had been attacking it moved on to its sister ship.

The _Galactica_, with the aid of the _Rising Star_, had managed to destroy one of the other two cruisers and severely damage the second. The Wraith, smelling defeat, sent out the recall signal to the darts and started pulling back. The _Daedalus_ and the _Pegasus_ swung high, the _Galactica _and the _Rising Star _low, all four ships pummeling the fleeing Wraith vessels with everything they had. Only one cruiser made it to hyperspace.

The _Daedalus' _communications officer had to shout to be heard over the cheering on the bridge. "Col. Caldwell, Commander Adama on the line."

"On screen, airman." Caldwell walked over to the screen, signaling for quiet. Adama's image appeared, the sound of cheering accompanying it. "Commander Adama. Congratulations."

_"And to you as well, Colonel. You have my gratitude, and the gratitude of the fleet. I fear things might have gone somewhat differently had you not arrived when you did."_

"Happy to be of service. I would advise you to leave this system as soon as possible, however. That Wraith ship will spread the word about you and your fleet, and it's only a matter of time before they return in force."

_"That could be a bit of a problem. We stopped here to mine the fuel we need for our ships. Most of the fleet is running on fumes. We need at least three more days to mine and refine a sufficient amount of tylium to fuel the fleet."_

"Three days?"

_"Four would be better. That would give us a full load, plus some reserves. This planet has the largest tylium deposits we've found since we left our home galaxy eleven yahrens ago, so we had hoped to stock up. We've been searching for a planet called Earth for a long time, Colonel, and we're not sure how much longer it'll take us to find it."_

Caldwell's eyebrows shot up. "Earth? You're trying to get to Earth?"

_"Yes. You know of it?"_

Caldwell smiled, just a bit. "You could say that. Commander, I think we need to have a long chat. Would you mind if some of my officers and I came over?"

_"Not at all. I look forward to meeting you."_

"We'll be there shortly." Caldwell turned to the comms officer. "Call Col. Sheppard, have him and his team head for the _Galactica_. Tell him I'll meet them there. Then call Atlantis and appraise them of the situation." He stood there for a second, looking out at the huge vessel he was about to board, then turned and headed for engineering. He had a few questions for Hermiad that he wanted answered first.

_Well, _he thought to himself, _life around here certainly never gets boring...

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To be continued...

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Feedback, as always, is both tasty and appreciated.

So, please, feed the author...

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_'To thee no star be dark...'_


	2. Chapter 2

Notes: In chapter one there was a line about the translator being able to translate for Adama. I'm gonna pretend that wasn't in there. They speak English. Everybody in at least three other galaxies speaks English, so why not them, right? Besides, it says GALACTICA in big bold letters right there on the sides of the landing bays, and I don't even wanna try to explain that away. Yes. I'm lazy.

That being said, I'm in the process of rethinking this (and most of the rest of my stories) since my 'puter crashed and took all my story notes with it. Two words: BACK UP! That saving stuff on the cd-rw's? _GOOD_ idea, that. Probably woulda cut down on my Excedrin usage the past few weeks. At any rate, the updates are probably gonna be a bit slow and spread out for a while. Isn't modern technology fun?

Disclaimer: I own none of it. If I did, I'd be able to afford a computer that wouldn't frak up so frelling often. Stupid piece of felgercarb. Sometimes I think I should take this blasted piece of dren out and use it for target practice...

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STARGATE - GALACTICA

By screaminheathen69

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Chapter the Second

_"... head for the _Galactica. _Colonel Caldwell will transport over to meet with Commander Adama in a few minutes."_

"Copy, _Daedelus. _One honor guard, coming up." Sheppard brought the puddle-jumper around in a graceful arc, joining up with a flight of four F-302's.

McKay leaned forward. "Which one's the _Galactica_?"

Sheppard pointed at the ship growing steadily larger ahead of them. "That one."

"How can you tell?"

"Well," John drawled, "that huge GALACTICA scrawled down the side there? Kind of a giveaway. But I could call in and double check if you're not convinced."

"Ha. Ha." Rodney rolled his eyes, but was too busy staring out at the fleet of starships to keep up his end of the verbal sparring.

Teyla and Ronon were leaning over their shoulders to see better. "I have never seen the like of these ships," Teyla said, somewhat in awe of the sheer size of the_ Galactica_. It just kept getting _bigger. _These Battlestars had a _presence_ about them, something that bespoke power, even if they did look as though they had been through Hell. The _Galactica_ and the _Pegasus _were both incredibly battle-scarred, but had obviously been lovingly maintained.

Sheppard nodded. "Me neither. Well, not since the last time I saw 'Return of the Jedi', anyway." Rodney rolled his eyes again, but he agreed with John. Not that he'd admit it.

A flight of six vipers joined their formation, and a new voice crackled over the comm. _"Jumper One, this is Lt. Troy of Blue Squadron. We've been directed to escort you to the _Galactica_."_

"Colonel John Sheppard here. Thanks for the escort, Captain. We're grateful for the company."

_"Glad to give it. Just follow us into the Beta Bay, please. Alpha Bay took some damage. And by the way, thanks."_

"You're welcome. Uhh, for what?"

_"For shooting those three ships off my tail. I thought I was pretty much frakked. I owe you one."_

"Happy to be of service. See you on board." The vipers pulled slightly ahead, then veered toward the port-side landing bay. "Guess that's the Beta Bay." John followed after the Colonials, the 302's still in formation. A puzzled look slowly came over his face. "Frakked?"

Rodney shrugged. "I dunno." Teyla and Ronon looked just as puzzled as he did.

John grinned goofily. "I think maybe I just learned a new curse word. Frak frak frak frak frak. Aren't cultural exchanges fun? Stop rolling your eyes, Rodney."

John slowed and let the Vipers and 302's land first. He leaned forward a bit, staring up at the expanse of starship hanging beside them. "My God, that's a big boat..." Shaking himself out of his reverie, he eased the puddle-jumper through the atmospheric containment field and set it down near the waiting Colonials.

John shut down the drive and swiveled his seat around. "Well, let's go meet the natives,"he said cheerfully, rubbing his hands together.

Rodney held up a finger. "They're not actually na-" He shut up when John shot him a look. "Right. Never mind. Umm, do we go out armed?"

John, in the process of strapping on his P-90, hesitated. "Good question. We are here to make friends, aren't we?" He thought about it for a few seconds, then set the P-90 down. "Sidearms only. We wanna make nice, but it still pays to be careful, right?" After relaying the same message to the 302 pilots, John slapped the hatch release and took a deep breath. "Here we go." He was really wishing that Elizabeth was here for this. She was just so much better with that whole 'Making-Nice-With-New-People-Thing' than he was. Not that he thought about how nice Elizabeth was. Much.

John stepped out of the Jumper and waved. "Hi there." He could feel Rodney rolling his eyes again as he introduced his team.

Apollo shook John's hand. "I'm Col. Apollo." He gestured at the other Colonials present in turn. "This is Starbuck, Boomer and my wife Sheba. Welcome aboard the _Galactica_."

Sheba wrapped an arm around Apollo's waist. "We can't thank you enough for your help. Those- what did you call them?"

"Wraith," said Teyla.

"Thank you. Those Wraith were getting the better of us. If you hadn't showed up when you did..." Sheba trailed off with a sigh.

John nodded. "Been there. We can sympathize."

"When did the Wraith arrive?" asked Teyla.

"Earlier today," said Boomer. "Just one ship, at first. They demanded that we surrender."

Starbuck grinned a nasty little grin. "When we told them what they could do with themselves, they got testy."

Boomer nodded. "Which would be when the other three ships showed up. We barely got the mining crew off the ground."

"What were you mining?" asked Rodney.

Apollo stopped by a shuttle that was being offloaded and grabbed a rock from a cartfull of ore that was passing by on the way to be processed. "This. It's tylium ore. We process it into a liquid fuel that powers all our ships."

Rodney took the ore and looked it over. "It's naquadah."

Apollo looked confused. "Sorry?"

John spoke up. "Naquadah. We call it naquadah. Most of the Ancient technology that we've found uses this stuff."

"Ancient technology?" asked Sheba.

"Umm, yeah. Long story. Ever heard of the Stargates?"

Apollo shook his head. "Can't say that I have."

Rodney threw the chunk of naquadah onto another passing ore cart. "They're also called chappa'ai. Or the Ring of the Gods."

"Or the Ring of the Ancestors," said Teyla. Those names didn't ring any bells either.

John shrugged. "Oh well. We'll get into all that later. I'd rather only tell the story once."

Apollo smiled. "No problem." He glanced out the end of the docking bay. "When will your commander's shuttle be arriving?"

John grinned. "Oh, he should be along any minute now." At the familiar sound of the transporter, his grin grew even larger. "In fact, here he is now." He couldn't help but laugh at the expressions on their faces as Caldwell beamed in. His laughter faded when he saw the look on the colonel's face.

Caldwell nodded in greeting. "I need to speak with Commander Adama as soon as possible." Apollo gestured the whole group toward the elevator.

"Something wrong, colonel?" John asked as the lift started up.

Caldwell sighed. "We just got a call from Pegasus Base." He was careful not to say Atlantis. "They picked up two Wraith hive ships on the deep space sensors." He could see that he had everyones undivided attention.

"They'll be here in just under two days."

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_To be continued...

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_

_'To thee no star be dark...'_


	3. Chapter 3

Notes: Hey, lookit that! I'm back! Real life kinda won the war there for a while, but I finally started hitting back. Amazing how much better I feel now that the back pain I fought for nearly nineteen years is gone. Sorta like getting a new lease on life. Thanks for being patient.

This is a short one, but I wanted to get something out. I'm still getting my head back into this space, and it's slow going.

Once again, this is the ORIGINAL BSG from '78-'79, which is still my favorite. Don't get me wrong, I liked the new version, but it got just a bit too soap opera-y for me sometimes. There will be some stuff borrowed from the novelizations, which went into far more detail than the show actually did.

Disclaimer: Do I really hafta say it?

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STARGATE-GALACTICA

By screaminheathen69

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_Chapter the third_

"Okay. A whole _fleet_ of humans from another galaxy who just happen to be looking for the long-lost planet Earth? _Seriously_?" There were days, thought Elizabeth Weir, that her job was just plain weird.

And, of course, this brand new group had already managed to piss off the Wraith. Big time.

So, weird, plus headache inducing. Nope, sorry; check that. _Migraine_ inducing. Yup.

_At least Caldwell hasn't told them we're from Earth yet. I don't think we're ready to open that particular can of worms just yet. We just have to pray they aren't from the Ori galaxy. I need to get there. Yesterday. _

…_Wonder if I have time to slip down to the infirmary to get something for this headache. Morphine, maybe. Yeah. That sounds about right…_

"Doctor Weir?"

"Yes?" She was standing over Chuck's shoulder, so he jumped just a bit.

"Sorry, ma'am. According to the database, there _is_ a stargate on the planet."

"Good. Thank you. Major Lorne?" She turned toward Lorne, eyebrow quirked.

"We've got two jumpers ready to go, ma'am. Whenever you're ready."

She smiled and grabbed the bag sitting next to her. "How 'bout now, Major?"

He grinned right back. "Works for me." He tapped his earpiece. "Lieutenant, fire 'em up. Doctor Weir and I are on our way."

"_Copy that, sir."_

Walking backwards, Weir called out to Radek, who was manning the deep space sensors. "How long 'til the hives arrive?"

"Forty-six hours, give or take a bit, unless they stop along the way."

"Any systems on their flight path that might interest them?"

"Err… no."

"So probably no stops then."

"It is doubtful."

"Forty-six it is then. Still just the two hives?"

"Well, yes." He hesitated, pulling a face. "There are also at least six cruisers with them, though."

"Swell. Just swell." She turned and jogged off after Lorne. "Why can't anything ever be easy?"

Lorne shot her a sideways look as they jogged up the stairs. "You really want an answer to that?"

She paused for all of about a half a second. "No. No, I really don't. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like it." _Should've grabbed that bottle of Excedrin. And a big bottle of wine…_

"Yeah. Thought so. Ready to go, people?" He got several nods, and a slightly irreverent 'yessir' from Cadman, then headed for his jumper. Weir joined Lorne and his team in jumper two, while the rest, including Cadman and Beckett, boarded jumper three. "Dial it up."

"_Major Lorne, the _Daedalus _reports the stargate is surrounded by some fairly thick jungle, so you're going to want to go through the gate fairly slow, then straight up."_

"Understood. Please inform Col. Caldwell that we should be rendezvousing with the fleet in a few minutes."

"_Will do, sir. Good luck."_

Lorne eased the jumper through the gate. 'Thick' was something of an understatement. He was fairly sure that he never would have been able to get through if the vortex hadn't cleaned out a hole for them to fly into. Teasing his way up and out, branches scraping loudly along the hull, he radioed jumper three. "You're gonna want to come through at a crawl, Captain. It's hard going on this side."

"_Copy that, Major. Coming through now. Oh, wow…"_

"Told you so." With one last particularly loud screech, the jumper broke through the canopy into a clear, slightly lavender sky. They hovered there until jumper three joined them, then hauled ass for orbit. "Lorne to _Daedalus. _do we have permission to go aboard the _Galactica_?"

"_That's affirmative, Major. Colonel Caldwell and Commander Adama are expecting Dr. Weir. There'll be an escort waiting to take you to their briefing room. They've asked that you land in the port-side docking bay, the other one is still under repair."_

"I copy, _Daedalus. _Port-side bay, escort waiting. ETA five minutes." He signed off, then shot Weir another sidelong look. "Ready to make another first contact?"

By now, Elizabeth had on her confident-negotiator-face. "Absolutely." Not like she was going to tell him how scared and worried she really was. She'd always been extremely grateful for her poker face.

Lorne leaned forward a bit, craning his neck to take in the _Galactica. _"Man. That thing is a beast…"

She nodded absentmindedly, more worried about the mess she was about to walk into. _Who are these people? Can we help them? _Should_ we help them? Oh, Lord, please let these people be friends. We've got far too many enemies as it is…_

As the jumpers were swallowed up by the cavernous landing bay, she took several deep breaths.

_Here we go…_

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'_To thee no star be dark…'_


	4. Chapter 4

Notes: Once again, this is the ORIGINAL BSG, the one from '78 - '79. If you're not familiar with it, shame on you! And they actually did have human-form Cylons in 'Galactica 1980', abomination that it was, so no, I'm not borrowing that from the new soap opera---er--- I mean series.

Disclaimer: It's the disclaimer. I'm disclaiming. You have officially been disclaimed. (You do know what a disclaimer is, right?)

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STARGATE-GALACTICA

By screaminheathen69

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_Chapter the Fourth_

The initial meeting went relatively smoothly. Well, if one went out of ones way to ignore the tension in the room, anyway. Everyone was friendly enough, but the Colonials weren't stupid, and it became obvious to them fairly quickly that their visitors were skirting the issue of Earth from the get-go.

Elizabeth was wishing that Caldwell had kept his big trap shut about Earth altogether, but thanks to him, it was getting harder and harder to ignore the proverbial 800 pound gorilla in the room.

That being said, the story of the Cylon's destruction of the Twelve Colonies and the epic journey that followed was _fascinating. _

They had started out eleven yahrens ago (about fifteen Earth years, give or take) with over two hundred ships and nothing but the dream of finding the lost Thirteenth Colony to guide them. For five yahrens, the Cylons had pursued them, attacking often and ferociously, whittling down their numbers through sheer attrition. Even with new births, there were only a few more people in the fleet than had set out in the beginning.

Not all of the losses could be blamed on the Cylons. Some ships were lost due to simple mechanical breakdown, having been flown far beyond their design tolerances. Some had been lost in hyperspace, whether due to mechanical failure or simple navigational error noone could say. And there had been other enemies, other battles. The Eastern Alliance had come after them, in force, almost a yahren after the fleet had cleared their system. There had been the Zeonites the galaxy after that. And, just three yahrens ago, Count Iblis had shown up again, the Ship of Light hot on his tail. In the ensuing battle, thirty-four vessels were destroyed, with more than five thousand killed.

Apollo, grateful as he was to them for restoring him to life all those years before, had angrily demanded that the supposedly 'higher beings' leave the Colonials well enough alone. He could only hope that they kept their word.

Elizabeth had about a thousand questions concerning what sounded to her like ascended beings, but wisely decided this wasn't the time.

The fleet has arrived in Pegasus three weeks before, most of the ships literally running on fumes. When they stumbled on the tylium (naquadah, to you and me) rich planet below, the timing couldn't have been better. Not only was it fuel rich, but food and water rich as well. So they settled into orbit and sent down the mining and supply ships, and said a thankful prayer.

And then the Wraith had shown up, and it was business as usual; fight or die.

Elizabeth looked up from the notes on her laptop. "So you haven't seen these Cylons in, what, six yahrens?"

Apollo glanced at Sheba, then nodded. "About that, yes. Toward the end, they were hitting us almost everyday. Then they just disappeared. We still don't know what happened to them."

Adama stirred in his seat. "Yes, but we've never stopped watching for them, either. I can't imagine them ever giving up their search for us."

"For a while we thought they might be trailing us, waiting for us to find Earth," said Starbuck. "But after we found the last of their spies, I can't see how they could still be tracking us."

Sheppard's eyebrow went up. "Sorry. Spies?"

Boomer sat forward, folding his hands together on the table. "They figured out a way to make fake humans. Cylons that looked like us. They never really got the mannerisms and speech patterns completely right, but they could stay fairly well hidden in a crowd."

Sheba pulled a face. "And considering how crowded most of our ships are, we had a helluva time tracking them all down."

John sat back, slightly wide-eyed. _Great. General O'Neill's just gonna _love_ the idea of more killer robots that look like us. _He still hadn't completely wrapped his noggin around the fact that the Cylons weren't actually robots, but cyborgs, a living brain inside a suit of armor. He had almost compared them to the Cybermen, but decided Rodney didn't need any more ammunition, and outing himself as a 'Doctor Who' fan was just begging for grief.

Caldwell had been sitting quietly through most of the story. As interesting as it was, he was pretty much stuck on one thing. "So you think it's likely that these Cylons might show up again. That they are, in fact, waiting for you to lead them to Earth."

Adama looked him in the eye. They needed help, and he sensed that honesty was best with these people. "That is my opinion, yes. I pray that I am wrong, Colonel, but every instinct I have tells me they're still out there. Waiting."

Apollo, shrewd as ever, was watching the emotions play out on their faces. "Which would be why you still haven't told us what you know about Earth, right? You're afraid of the consequences. That if you show us the way to Earth, you're guiding our enemies there as well."

Elizabeth smiled, just a little. "It _is _a legitimate concern, I'm sure you'll agree." With the newfound Ori threat, they certainly didn't need any other problems.

Caldwell was nodding. "If they could put a force together to wipe out twelve planets and nearly your entire fleet _simultaneously_, that would mean a severe threat to the safety of a single world."

Adama sighed. "I know. Believe me, that is something I have worried about throughout all our long journey." He looked tiredly out the viewport at the planet below. "In recent yahrens, we have on more than a few occasions given thought to stopping, simply finding a habitable world and settling there. Putting down roots."

He looked back at his visitors. "But then we would find another outpost of humanity, another marker of the trail leading us to the Thirteenth Tribe, and hope would return. We want to be part of a larger community again, Dr. Weir. We want to be with our long lost family, to reunite all the Thirteen Tribes."

He stood up and paced over to the viewport, taking a deep breath as he went. "And if, God forbid, our enemies do manage to follow us there, then we will do all in our power to defend them."

He turned back to them, a sad look on his face. "And, if they do not wish our presence there, then we shall move on, and find a new home elsewhere. They _are _our family, but we would not presume to force ourselves upon them."

There was a long silence after that. Finally, Elizabeth got up and walked over to Adama. "Sir, if it were my choice, I'd tell you how to get to Earth, happily. I think your people have suffered long enough. But it's not my decision. I'll have to go back to our base to discuss this with my superiors. I think I know what their answer will be, but we do have to follow protocol. I'm sure you understand."

Adama smiled. "Yes. Even in our little fleet, there is always the bureaucracy to deal with."

She smiled in return. "One of the Universal Constants. Umm, it might help if I took back a representative, someone to speak for you. Would you be willing to send one or two of your people along with me? It _would _be tremendously helpful, sir."

Adama thought about it, then turned and looked at Apollo and Sheba. Apollo was already grinning. "We both volunteer, Commander." Sheba shot her husband a look, then rolled her eyes and smiled, nodding.

Adama nodded. "I believe we have our ambassadors, doctor. If that is agreeable to you?"

"Absolutely, Commander. We'll leave as soon as possible. In the meantime, if our people can be of any assistance to you, please feel free to ask."

She gathered up her laptop while John called Lorne to tell him to prep the jumper. As her little group gathered together to head for the launch bay, she stopped and called out to Adama. _Time to start trusting these people. _

"Commander?" Adama, who was talking quietly with Boomer and Athena, turned to her. "Just thought you might like to know. The planet we're going to is called Lantea. Our base is the City of Atlantis." She could see by the expression on his face that he recognized that name, if nothing else. "Please don't tell the Wraith that. They think we blew it up a few months ago."

Adama gave her a bemused look. "Of course. I'll make sure it doesn't come up in casual conversation."

"We'd appreciate that." She turned to Apollo and Sheba. "Ready?"

Apollo pulled a face. "I have to admit, I'm a little worried about this whole 'demolecularisation' thing. How can that not hurt?"

Sheba nudged him in the ribs. "Worry-wart. C'mon, let's go say good-bye to Troy before we go."

As everyone said their farewells, Elizabeth looked at her watch. Just under forty-four hours left until the Wraith arrived.

They were running out of time...

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To be continued

_To thee no star be dark…_


	5. Chapter 5

Notes: Okay, so it's been two years since I updated. Started dialysis (anybody got a spare kidney?), and, God help me, started dating again for the first time since my divorce. Everything else kinda got set aside for a while. Fun, this dating thing, but lordy I was outta practice.

This is_ still _the _ORIGINAL_ BSG from '78-'79. Because I like it better, so there!

Disclaimer: Have disclaimers changed in the last two years? No? Good. Consider yourself disclaimed.

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STARGATE-GALACTICA

By screaminheathen69

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_Chapter the Fifth_

_"They've okayed bringing your new friends back to Atlantis Elizabeth." _Even over the slightly fuzzy image on the monitor, Elizabeth could see the tiredness and irritation on General O'Neill's face.

"Long meeting, Jack?"

O'Neill pulled a face. _"You have no idea Liz. Half of 'em want to get the Colonials here as quick as possible so's they can get their grubbies on their tech, the other half is scared to death of the baggage they may be bringing along."_

"So no telling them how to get to Earth, at least not yet." Weir wasn't sure if she was glad about that or not. Deep down in her gut, she knew they could trust the Colonials, but the threat the Cylons posed couldn't be ignored either.

_"Nope. We're in the process of loading an official _(Jack made air-quotes as he said official)_ group of folks on the _Prometheus._ They should be there in twenty days to say howdy. If they like what the Colonials have to say, we'll see where we go from there." _Jack grinned, with just a touch of smirk thrown in. _"I've managed to get myself and SG-1 on the short list. I don't want the IOC screwing this up. Daniels's having kittens."_

Elizabeth snorted. "Epic understatement, knowing how bad Dr. Jackson wants to come to Atlantis." Jack's smirk just got smirkier. "With the _Prometheus_ coming to Pegasus, won't that cause some problems back home? What about the Ori?"

_"There was some grumbling about that. They got over it once they remembered that the _Odyssey _is due to roll out in a couple of weeks. So far the Priors have only turned up on planets with stargates anyway."_

Elizabeth nodded. "Makes sense, I suppose." She glanced down at the gateroom entry, where Apollo and Sheba had just come in escorted by John and Rodney. "Our guests are being patient Jack, but it's painfully obvious they're itching for at least some information regarding Earth. Are you sure we can't give them something?"

Jack pulled another face, then leaned in closer to the monitor. _"You think they'd be willing to come through the wormhole? It might help things along if they could brief our folks on the way to Pegasus."_

Elizabeth grinned. "That might involve telling them they're going to Earth, you know."

Jack grinned right back. _"It might at that. Think you can ask 'em while we're still on? If they come through now, I'm pretty sure I can back-sell it later."_

She was already tapping her ear-piece. "Colonel Sheppard, could you please bring our guests up to the control room? General O'Neill would like a word."

_"On our way Elizabeth." _ A minute later, John, Rodney, Apollo and Sheba were gathered behind Elizabeth.

"Apollo, Sheba, this is General Jack O'Neill." Jack waved. "He was wondering if you'd care to take another little trip through the wormhole."

Apollo glanced at his wife, who shrugged. "Where to?"

Jack's smirk widened. _"Little planet we're all pretty fond of. We call it Earth. Thought you might like a look-see."_

Apollo's eyes widened. Sheba looked stunned. Apollo looked at his new friends, all of whom were sporting large grins. "You're _from_ Earth?"

Sheba sat down heavily in the first available chair. Chuck had to vacate said chair to make way. "I'd lost faith. I started to think we'd never actually find Earth." She looked up at her husband. "If only my father could have lived to see this."

Apollo laid his hand on her shoulder. "He see's it Sheba." She nodded. Apollo glanced back at John. "Why didn't you say so before?"

John's grin faded. "Orders. Our bosses back home aren't quite sure what to do about you folks. They already have enough enemies, hearing about your Cylon friends, well..."

"They don't want to invite new ones." Apollo was nodding. He could understand the worry. In fact, he shared it.

_"These guys took out your entire fleet _and_ twelve planets at the same time. Some folks find that cause for concern." _Jack could tell that honesty was the best way to go with these people. _"Truth is, I don't have the official okay to bring you over, but I think it's the best way to go. We need to put a face to the story. I can give you two days on Earth, then the eighteen day trip back to Pegasus on the _Prometheus._ Hopefully that'll give you a chance to make these people see things the way they need to."_

Apollo looked to Sheba. She smiled and nodded. He turned back to the monitor. "When do we leave?"

Elizabeth stood. "Right now. We need to send you through while the wormhole is still open."

Apollo nodded, thinking. "Can I send a message to my father? I need to tell him what's going on. Everything. I can tell him to keep the truth about you being from Earth to himself, but I can't leave without filling him in."

Elizabeth shot a look at Rodney, who waved Apollo over to his station. "You can record it here."

Apollo sat down, Sheba standing behind him. After thinking for a few seconds, Apollo hit record. "Hello father. Kobol-delta-Gemini-seven-three-epsilon." This was the code that all was well. "Our new friends have invited Sheba and I to their homeworld." He grinned. "We're going to Earth, father. They're from _Earth_. We'll be traveling through the wormhole as soon as I finish this message, and will be returning by ship in twenty days. Please keep the information that these people are from Earth to yourself for now. We'll discuss it further upon our return. In the meantime, they have offered to shelter the fleet here at Atlantis. Dr. Weir will fill you in on the rest. Keep us in your prayers, father. We'll see you in twenty days."

He hit the pause button, then stood. "Please see that the Commander receives that as soon as possible."

Rodney copied the message to a thumb drive, then handed it to Elizabeth. "I'll hand deliver it to him personally, Apollo. We'll be heading back just as soon as you're gone. We wanna get the fleet moving as quickly as possible."

"Thank you." He shook Elizabeth's hand, then took Sheba's. "Ready?"

"Oh, yes!"

Weir looked at the monitor. Jack was rising from his chair. _"Just told 'em we had company coming. I'm headed down to the gate now."_

John and Elizabeth escorted the Colonials down to the gate and made their farewells. Apollo and Sheba shared a look, then stepped through the gate hand in hand.

Standing on the other side, with SG-1 flanking him, was Jack. "Welcome to Earth, kids."

* * *

Somewhere in the ancient dark outside the Pegasus galaxy, something stirred. Several somethings, in fact. A fleet of somethings.

Because one of their hidden probes had sent back the first significant information in yahrens.

The Colonial fleet had met up with a new batch of humans. Whether or not they were from Earth was unsure, but still.

Every indicator was that Earth was somewhere along the course the fleet had been following. And patient as he was, the Imperious Leader was tired of waiting.

It seemed the waiting might be nearing and end...

* * *

_"To thee no star be dark..."_


End file.
